GREEN BAY, Wis (WBAY) – Aurora Medical Center officials say an employee is no longer with the company, after an investigation revealed that the employee admitted to carrying dozens of vials of Moderna’s COVID 19 vaccine left overnight at Grafton, Wisconsin location.
According to a release released early Wednesday night, attorneys Aurora Health officials say an internal investigation was launched immediately after they learned of the incident earlier in the week, and that they believe it was caused by human error. However, according to officials, the person in question admitted on Wednesday that the vaccine was intentionally removed from a refrigerator.
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Company officials say they have notified authorities for further investigation, saying they are “more than disappointed that the actions of this individual will result in a delay of more than 500 people receiving their vaccination.”
Once the vaccine has been thawed, it cannot be frozen again.
In addition, Aurora officials say they still believe that vaccination is the way out of the pandemic, and that the action is a violation of their core values.
An earlier report said 50 bottles were left out when an employee took them out of the fridge to gain access to other items and could not return them overnight Friday.
However, industry officials increased it to 57, saying it had resulted in more than 500 doses of the vaccine being discarded.
The employee was not identified by Aurora officials.
Grafton police also released a release Wednesday night, saying the FBI, as well as the Food and Drug Administration, are helping them with the investigation into the incident.
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